Media Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Psychotherapy Notes

The TV therapists who do the job well

June 11, 2018 by Jeffrey Liebert

At the risk of being exposed for the nerd I am, I’ve been closely following the TV show The Flash. It tells the story of the superhero dubbed “The fastest man alive.” When I sat down to watch a recent episode, I read the description before starting. That description noted that the main character was going to be attending a therapy session with his wife. I immediately became skeptical. Most movie and TV therapists act unprofessionally, unethically, or some combination of the two (for example, the therapist in 13 Reasons Why).

I didn’t know whether to continue watching, for fear that a bad therapist would ruin the entire show. I recognize the irrationality in that thought, but I’m proud of my education and my profession. I have a hard time supporting those who portray it poorly.

I decided to stick it out and give the show a chance, and I am glad that I did.

Podcast episode 9: Measurement with Casey Meinster

June 4, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Psychotherapy Notes podcast Casey Meinster is the Director of Evidence Based Practices at Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, a major mental health services provider in Los Angeles. In that role, she wrangles a lot of information. But one piece of information I learned from her changed how I think about the importance of measurement in psychotherapy.

Hathway-Sycamores serves thousands of clients a year through more than a dozen programs. They fund those programs through a variety of sources, including government contracts, grants, and other sources. And it is now the case that every single program they run now has to produce outcome data on its clients. Their payors demand it.

Podcast episode 7: Men in therapy, with Angela Caldwell

May 7, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Psychotherapy Notes podcast The overwhelming majority of therapists are women. So are most clients. Men are often reluctant to attend therapy voluntarily. As we discussed in the last episode, even well-intentioned therapists and counselors can make men feel unwelcome simply by how they frame men’s presence in the room. Sometimes, changing how you work to better respond to men’s needs and expectations of therapy can make the process a lot more effective.

Protecting confidentiality on Facebook

June 17, 2018April 25, 2018 by Jeffrey Liebert

Many of our readers reacted with surprise to Monday’s post (“Facebook connects your clients, even if you don’t use Facebook”). It certainly reinforces the idea that if you are not actively and regularly working to protect the confidentiality of your clients on social media, you may not be doing enough.